


To Give And To Take

by sapphicqueens



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/F, Fluff, Horseback Riding, Pre-Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-03-31 11:04:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3975730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicqueens/pseuds/sapphicqueens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is based on a prompt: one where regina teaches emma horse back riding.. And they ride on the same horse (you know hands around her waist and all that jazz) // or the same exact thing but with emma teaching regina how to ride a motorcycle!! #fluff</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Give And To Take

**Author's Note:**

> This has also been posted on my tumblr a few weeks ago. Sorry for mistakes, English is not my first language!

“Do you really believe I will jump up on that thing?” Emma asked in disbelief, eyebrows raised and with a slight nervousness in her voice. In front of her, controlled by Regina, stood an enormous shiny black horse. It looked her dead in the eye, as if it were challenging her.

“Not a thing, Miss Swan, a horse. My beloved horse. And yes I very much expect you to sit on her.” Regina responded with a scowl on her face and stroked the mare’s silky shoulder. The horse had stopped paying attention to the blonde woman and was now playfully nudging Regina’s arm in search for a treat. “You promised your mother you would learn. I know we’re not in the Enchanted Forest but she still wants you to be a part of our culture and horse back riding just happens to be a small part of it. I will teach you even if I have to tie you up on the saddle.”

“You would like that now, wouldn’t you?” Emma teased with a wink, earning an eye roll from the mayor. In all honesty, Emma found Regina really attractive in her riding gear, the pants hugging her legs and the leather high boots making her look even more regal, compared to how clumsy she felt in her safety west and helmet. Although, she would never admit that to Regina.

“No, but I can see you would like that.” Regina cleared her throat and a smirk played on her lips from catching Emma checking her out. “Now, be a dear and show me what I’ve taught you.”

Emma gulped and looked back at the horse. She admitted the mare was beautiful and had kind eyes but she could not for her life understand how a sane human being could want to sit on an animal, it screamed danger!

“You do know that’s a horse right?” Emma murmured, causing Regina to chuckle at the question.

“I am aware.”

“She has her own consciousness.” Emma tried again and found herself wanting to hear the brunette laugh. She had a nice laugh.

“Yes, well you are your father’s daughter. Very observant. Now would you please check the saddle?” Regina tried to get Emma to focus. The sooner the Saviour be up on the horse, the better. Time was precious and she did not intend to spend it all on Emma.

Emma moistened her lips and went to check and tauten the girth. She controlled the length of the stirrups and gave Regina a questioning look to see if she had done everything right. A short nod accepted her check up and she put her hands on the saddle.

“Now, as you’ve so eloquently stated before, this is a living being with her own will and desires you’re about to mount. She can either let you sit on her strong back and carry you for miles, or throw you off without mercy. Be careful, she will sense your nerves.” Regina knew her mare would never do that, but she couldn’t help but muse over the scared pout on the blonde’s face.

“Thanks for the reminder, Regina, I really needed that.” Emma muttered and started to stroke the mare’s throat as if to ask the horse permission. Regina found it heart warming to see such concern from the Saviour and let a soft smile grace her lips.

“Erm... By the way I don’t think I can jump up on my own. Some help, please?” Emma asked and turned around to look at the brunette. Regina went to stand behind Emma and put her hands around one of her legs. Emma couldn’t help the sharp intake of air as Regina’s fingers touched her thigh and cupped her knee. The touch sent tingles to her stomach and she cursed herself for letting herself be so affected by the mayor.

“Jump, I’ll catch you.” Emma sensed the double meaning behind those words, they trusted each other to death. It was hard not to after everything they’ve been through. She nibbled her lower lip and her heart fluttered at the little proclamation from Regina, but she knew now was not the time to swoon over her crush.

“Did you hear me? You can jump.” Regina asked after losing patience with the blonde. Emma shook herself out of her daze and took a leap. She was however not prepared for the other woman to give her a gentle push and accidentally toppled over, landing on top of Regina in the soft grass. Emma tensed up, waiting for the scolding she was sure would leave the mayor’s mouth.

“Ever so graceful, sheriff.” Regina huffed but started laughing close to her ear and the warm breath against her neck did things to Emma, who was both relieved but also surprised from Regina’s reaction. The blonde blushed and rolled off the brunette and offered a helping hand.

“Let’s try again.” Regina said and brushed grass off her legs. She gestured toward the horse, who was happily munching away on the green food nature provided.

Emma gave her a determined nod and soon they managed to get the Saviour on the horse.

“Take the reins, no, shorten them a bit. You need to take control over the horse, to guide her.” Emma fidgeted with the long leather strap that hung around the horse’s neck.

“Will you lead me?” Emma asked when she got the hang of it, at least she thought she had.

“If you were a child that had years and years in front of her to master the art of horseback riding, I would, but since your mother wanted you to learn before the little tournament games in a few weeks, I’m afraid we have to speed things up. I will join you on the horse and we will go through the three main walks in English riding style.” Regina said and without the help of a stirrup, she swung herself up as if it was second nature to her, which it probably was, Emma thought.

What she was not prepared for, was Regina’s hands under her arms and around her waist. She felt the brunette flush against her back and in the midst of it all, Emma accidentally bumped her heels into the mare’s sides and the horse started to walk forward in a lazy pace. Emma tensed up but felt comfort in having the safety of Regina and her riding skills behind her.

“Make her stop, Emma.” Regina ordered and she was so close to Emma’s ear, she felt her heart skip a beat. If Emma thought she had control over her nerves, it was gone now. She was not only sitting on a horse for the first time in her life, she also had the woman of her dreams practically embracing her.

“Uhm...” Emma let out a shaky breath and forgot how to function.

“Here, let me show you. Grip the reigns and pull them gently toward you, not hard, you don’t want to hurt the horse.” Regina put her hands over Emma’s and Emma thought her heart would beat out of her chest. “Squeeze lightly with your thighs. That’s how you stop a horse.” Regina explained and Emma suddenly felt Regina’s legs against her own, tensing, as she stopped the mare for Emma.

“When you want her to walk again, nudge her sides with your heels. Gently. Always be gentle with a horse. That’s the biggest mistake beginners make, they tend to forget that and it always causes unnecessary accidents.” Regina instructed her, mouth still close to her ear and neck and Emma swallowed the butterflies in her body.

The sheriff did as she was told and soon the horse was walking again, ears perked forward in anticipation and curiosity of what laid ahead of them.

“Good. Now I want you to focus on the horse and her movements. Straighten your back, dear, don’t sit like a sack of potatoes I can feel you slouching! Feel the horse walk, that’s the only way to get comfortable and to know the horse.” Regina taught and Emma listened with intensity. The way Regina talked gossiped about how much she loved this hobby, how much time and effort she put into it and Emma cherished this new side of the former queen.

“Steer her over to the tractor road and we will take a route through the forest.” Regina ordered and Emma obeyed. “Remember to use your legs and feet as much as you use your hands, show with your whole body what you want her to do.” Emma was a little confused as to how you could show with your whole body, but she pulled the reigns and pressed her right leg to the mare’s side to steer her left. She assumed she did it correctly because the mare did exactly as instructed.

They sat there for a while, enjoying the nice weather as the horse moved forward. Emma started to ease into it, feeling the horse move under her and she found herself enjoying it.

“Shorten the reigns and urge her to move faster, not into a trot, but a faster pace.” Regina said and put her hands on the blonde’s again, prepared to take control if needed. Although, Emma managed to complete the task with success. After a few minutes, Regina decided it was time to quicken the pace even more.

“Now I want you to make her trot. You do the same as to get her to walk.” Emma listened and acted, smacking her tongue as she had heard other people do when they urged their horses to move faster.

“Do you feel the rhythm? I want you to sit and stand in time with her steps, can you manage to do that?” Regina asked.

“Uhm... No?” Emma said unsurely and found it difficult to be steady as the horse bounced away under them.

“One, two, up, down.” Regina started to count for her, showing her the rhythm. “Stand in the stirrups.” Emma tried and after a few clumsy and uneven ups and downs, ones and twos, she understood what and why she did it. The trot felt easier to her and the horse.

“You’re a natural, I guess you got it from your mother!” Regina praised.

“You’re a very good teacher, too.” Emma said and was met with silence from the other woman. Emma bit the inside of her cheek, hoping her compliment was taken well. To her surprise, and what made her squeak, was the pressure from the brunette’s arms around her, as if she was hugging Emma. Without thinking, the sheriff leaned back into Regina’s embrace. The brunette gasped and let go of he blonde, who almost lost her balance. She was quick to regain it, only to squeeze her legs a little too hard around the horse because suddenly the mare was not trotting anymore. She was speeding up in a full gallop through the forest and Emma shrieked in fear.

“HELP!” Emma screamed and grabbed the thick mane adorning the horse’s neck, holding on for dear life as the trees passed them in a green blur. She felt tears sting in her eyes and she closed them tightly, her heart hammering hard against her ribs. This was the day she would die. Not from a monster, or a witch, or some other magical mystery, but from a racing horse.

“Emma, take the reigns!” She heard Regina say in a demanding tone, free from any fear or worry. Emma could not get her hands to move, she was paralyzed. “Emma, snap out of it. You are in control. I will not let you fall, remember, I will catch you.” Regina ordered, and the mayor’s hands were back and so was the support of the brunette’s chest. Immediately a sense of safety flooded through the blonde, Regina’s steady voice had that effect on her as well as the warmth of her body.

Emma dared to open her eyes and focus on the road, and not on the thundering hooves underneath. She took a deep breath and tried to relax.

Regina wanted to give the Saviour a comforting stroke on her shoulder, knowing fully how terrifying a galloping horse out of control could be, but voted against doing so in fear of causing the blonde to react again.

The sheriff tried to remember what Regina had said about feeling the horse’s movements and soon she fell into the rhythm. Exhilaration replaced fear, the wind now a soft and calming caress on her cheeks. The power of muscles, real muscles filled with pumping blood pulsing through the powerhouse that was the horse felt so different from riding a motorcycle or driving a car with a roaring engine. It was raw and it was excitement. The knowledge that the horse did indeed had a mind of its own fueled the feeling of being exposed to such vulnerability and Emma loved it.

Regina sensed the woman’s joy and it was confirmed when she heard Emma howl and cheer as the horse made her way through the forest. She laughed at Emma, no, with Emma and let out a shout of joy herself. She knew exactly what was going through the blonde’s head because she remembered she felt the same way the first time she sat on a galloping horse. She still did.

“This is amazing!” Emma panted with a breathless laughter and her excitement made Regina smile so much it ached. Their shared happiness spread a warm and tingling feeling through the brunette’s body and her heart was suddenly like a hummingbird’s wing. She pressed her forehead against the Saviour’s back and was overwhelmed with the affection she felt toward her former enemy.

Emma did not seem to notice, or didn’t show it, the tenderness from her son’s mother. She was in heaven, or something like that, loving the feeling of racing from her thoughts and the adrenaline pulsed in her ears. The horse grunted and threw her head up happily as if she too could feel the swirl of emotions on her back, which she probably could.

The women rode on, the horse carrying them effortlessly on the dirt road and seemed happy to stretch her muscles. Even so, the weight from the two women eventually slowed the horse down and Emma sensed it was enough, she didn’t want to run the horse to death. As if it was already in the marrow of her bones, she made the horse slow down to a comfortable walking pace.

“Wow...” The blonde sighed and the brunette chuckled.

“Impressive, huh?”

“Uhu...” Emma was a little speechless, she didn’t really know what to say.

“In a few minutes we will reach a path to our left, turn in there and we will make a short cut back to the stable.” Regina instructed and let her arms hang around the blonde loosely.

“Thank you, Regina. I had no idea riding a horse could be this... Indescribable.”

“You’re welcome, dear. I must say, it was a pleasure teaching you. Next time you will be able to ride perfectly fine without my assistance.”

“Uuuh, you know what Regina, I actually feel a little shaky, a little scared that I might fall off. I think I need a few more lessons like this.” Emma said and turned around to give the mayor a flirtatious wink, which had the brunette smirk with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“You’ve got some nerve, Miss Swan.”

“Oh but I feel so safe in the arms of my teacher, Miss Mills”

“That’s enough, dear. You’re pushing it.”

Emma let out an easy laugh and patted the hand on her abdomen, giving it a light squeeze.

“You have seen nothing yet, Madame Mayor.”


End file.
